Companies like The High Street Auction Co – better described as a structured sale specialist – have an invaluable role to play when disposing of an asset and restoring liquidity through business rescue.
It is in this spirit that Greg Dart has led High Street Auction Co to work closely with George Nell and Gideon Slabbert of The Corporate Business Advisory in what has up until now been referred to as ‘Project X’ – the now approved business rescue plan for The Success Academy which has a corporate portfolio with a replacement value in excess of R3 billion.
This major project in the turnaround space is being viewed as something of a case study when it comes to achieving realistic market value rather than simply embarking on a fire sale.
Slabbert explains that partnering with an involved and knowledgeable auction house like The High Street Auction Co is a cardinal part of not only having an accurate restructuring plan on the table but avoiding the very real risk of underdelivering on pre-agreed targets.
“When I look at traditional selling methods versus modern auctions, the extent of the marketing is far reaching. The old stigma of an auction was just to liquidate the asset for what you can get. There is so much value that companies like High Street Co offer in terms of a disposal strategy. The daily business of auction houses is assets, and they have built up a client portfolio that is constantly looking for transactions. News of assets coming to the market can go 100 or 150 interested buyers, as opposed to only perhaps ten in the past. The modern auction specialist provides business rescue practitioners like Corporate Business Advisory with the flexibility of knowing where we are heading with an asset. This provides a lot of comfort for us, the company, and its creditors,” says Slabbert.
He believes that what takes the modern-day process beyond the bargain hunting of yesteryear is the support as well as the ability to put in place a reserve price that is subject to confirmation.
“There is a structured approach. I don’t think that there is any other process that is better than a tailor-made, bespoke process for selling an asset,” Slabbert says.
Greg Dart, director of The High Street Auction Co, agrees that the business rescue process is a critical factor within the Turn Around, Restructuring and Insolvency (TRI) space. Up until recently, liquidation was seen as a forced shut down demanded by the courts. Now there are many grey areas as businesses have far more say and can either opt for voluntary liquidation or even go into business rescue in a bid to bring in experts that can free up much needed equity to realign a business in a bid to survive in current uncertain and even treacherous market conditions.
In light of this – and the fact that business rescue is likely to become a very real part of South Africa’s overall economic restructuring – Dart says that The High Street Auction Co has positioned itself to make this a centre of excellence.
According to Stats SA, there were more than 140 liquidations in February 2025 alone, 1.4% above February 2024. Whilst the first quarter of 2025 appeared to be better than its predecessor, this dip may be short lived in the wake of massive uncertainty sparked by South Africa’s budget debacle as well as US president Donald Trump’s tariff assault.
Adrian Saville, economist, investment specialist, and professor at the Gordon Institute of Business, agrees that business unusual at times of intense uncertainty will require a smarter way of doing business, especially in the TRI space.
Partnering with the right auction company not only frees up liquidity but enables a company and its business rescue practitioners to optimise the returns on an initial investment at a time when this is most needed, Dart says.
“The role of business practitioners and auction platforms is realising liquidity. So, the ability to quickly convert assets into cash through a transmission mechanism that involves an auction can be a lifeline for companies that are undergoing restructuring. A business like The High Street Auction Company that has deep expertise in this area enables business rescue practitioners to focus on what they do best – restructuring,” Saville adds.
“You need trusted and reliable partners and you need things to be done in good time so that you can get through a very stressful and challenging process with certainty and confidence, reliability and clarity. That’s what this type of partnership or combination would help facilitate,” he concludes.
